Yash Goyal
Jaipur, May 5
Two Olympians are among 134 candidates in Rajasthan’s second round of Lok Sabha elections tomorrow. Among the important seats are Jaipur, Bikaner, Ganganagar, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and Nagaur.
While PM Narendra Modi held eight election rallies covering 20 seats, Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed nine rallies covering 21 seats since April 21.The BJP is concentrating on the issues of nationalism, Pulwama, Balakot, and terror. The Congress is focusing on NYAY, farmers, the youth and the middle class.
The poll battle between Olympian Rajyavardhan Rathore, MoS in the Modi government, and discus player Krishna Poonia, the sitting MLA from Sadulpur, is expected to be the most interesting. Rathore is counting on the Modi factor, given that the Jats appear to be backing Poonia who is being described as ‘kisan ki beti’. Her rival Rathore is being described as ‘fiery fauji’.
In Jaipur, former mayor Jyoti Khandelwal (Cong) is almost certain to breach the BJP fortress with the support of five MLAs. BJP’s sitting MP Ramcharan Bohra is banking on the Brahmin vote bank and Modi factor. Bikaner is witnessing a battle between cousins. Modi’s MoS Arjun Ram Meghwal seems to be in trouble owing to party rebels. Congress’ Madan Gopal appears strong in four of the seven Assembly constituencies.
In Nagaur, the BJP ceded a seat to ally RLTP and sitting MLA Hanuman Beniwal in the hope of getting Jat votes to defeat Congress’ Jyoti Mirdha. This strategy may or may not work. In Alwar that saw lynching of Muslim dairy farmers Pehlu Khan case in March 2017 and Rakbar Khan in July 2018 following rumours of cow smuggling, Congress’ Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, a confidant of AICC chief Rahul Gandhi, is pitted against first-timer Baba Balaknath of the BJP. Balaknath is supported by yoga guru Ramdev.
In Dausa seat, it is Meena Vs Meena with five women contestants, including BJP’s former MP Jaskaur , and Congress’ Savita, in the race. Here, BJP’s KL Meena, MP, and Gurjar leader KS Bainsla will play a decisive role.
DAY OF RECKONING FOR FORMER UNION MINISTER RUDY
Patna: In the fifth leg of the seven-phase polls in Bihar on Monday, former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy is among the 82 candidates vying for five seats, including Muzaffarpur (22), Sitamarhi (20), Madhubani (17), Saran (12) and Hajipur (11). As NDA nominee, Rudy is locked in a tough battle with mahagathbandhan’s Chandrika Rai, a former Bihar minister, in Saran constituency. RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s elder son and former Bihar Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav had allegedly urged the electorate not to vote in favour of his father-in-law Rai. In Hajipur, NDA nominee and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s brother Pashupati Kumar Paras is facing a tough fight from grand alliance’s Shivchandra Ram. TNS
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2LosHYr
via Today’s News Headlines
No comments: